1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to disk drive suspensions, and more particularly to an ultra low cost suspension comprising a unitary load beam and flexure structure provided on a strip for further assembly of the suspension with conductors and formation of rails, and having a novel, mounting plate-free attachment arrangement and integrated dimple free flexure platform for carrying a slider.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, disk drive suspensions have several cost-increasing assembly steps and component additions that are desirably eliminated or reduced in scope or number in order to meet the demand for the ultimate inexpensive suspension.
It is an object of the invention, therefore, to provide the ultimate inexpensive suspension. It is a further object to provide a suspension having a one-piece flexure and load beam and a highly simplified mounting. A further object is to provide as part of the flexure a head having inner and outer leaves carried in a frame for slider support.
This and other objects of the invention to become apparent hereinafter are realized in a low cost disk drive suspension system comprising a one-piece flexure and load beam structure adapted for mounting plate-free mounting to an actuator arm and having an elongated load beam portion having a longitudinal axis and a base section at its proximate end, a rigid section at its distal end, and a spring section between the base and rigid sections, and a flexure portion at the load beam distal end, the flexure portion comprising a head connected to the load beam distal end by a neck extension of the load beam distal end, the flexure portion head comprising a generally rectangular interiorly open frame having its longitudinal axis disposed normal to the load beam longitudinal axis, the frame comprising opposed inner and outer transversely disposed legs connected by opposed left and right longitudinally disposed side legs, the frame inner leg being joined to the neck, the flexure portion head further comprising a platform adapted to support a slider, the platform comprising an inner leaf within the frame and an outer leaf without the frame, the leaves being attached to and separated by the frame outer leg in gimballing relation.
In this and like embodiments, typically, the entirety of the structure is etched from a single sheet of metal foil, the platform inner and outer leaves are mirror images and comprise respectively inner and outer rectangles extending from the frame outer leg and disposed normal to the load beam longitudinal axis, the rectangles being centered on the load beam longitudinal axis and having a length substantially equal to the width of the load beam distal end, each the rectangle being relieved at its locus of attachment to the frame outer leg to free each the rectangle of attachment to the frame outer leg from the outer left and right edges of the rectangle inward to a center locus of each the rectangle having the width of the neck, the load beam base section defines a base section mounting hole adapted to register with an actuator arm mounting hole and receive an axially extended connector for connecting the structure to the actuator arm, the base section mounting hole having circularly distributed fingers extending radially into the base section mounting hole in connector guiding relation, and, the connector has a first terminal flange at one end and a second terminal flange at the other end, the second terminal flange being formed in situ after assembly of the structure with the load beam.
In a further embodiment, the invention provides a low cost disk drive suspension system comprising a series of planar, unitary structures comprising a load beam and flexure formed from a common single sheet material on a common mounting strip, each the structure comprising an elongated load beam portion having a longitudinal axis and a base section at its proximate end, a rigid section at its distal end, and a spring section between the base and rigid sections, the rigid section having rail members lying in the plane of the rigid section adapted for subsequent turning up or down to be normal to the rigid section, and a flexure portion at the load beam distal end, the flexure portion comprising a head connected to the load beam distal end by a neck extension of the load beam distal end, the flexure portion head comprising a generally rectangular, interiorly open frame having its longitudinal axis disposed normal to the load beam longitudinal axis and comprising opposed inner and outer legs spaced from and parallel to the frame longitudinal axis, the inner and outer legs being connected by opposed left and right side legs disposed normal to the frame longitudinal axis and parallel to the load beam longitudinal axis, the frame inner leg being joined to the neck, the flexure portion head further comprising a platform adapted to support a slider, the platform comprising an inner leaf within the frame and an outer leaf without the frame, the leaves being attached to and separated by the frame outer leg in gimballing relation, wire supports along the side of the load beam, wire conductors supported at the wire supports, a slider mounted to the platform and electrically connected to the wire conductors.
In this and like embodiments, typically, each structure load beam is free of a final gram adjustment, the platform inner and outer leaves are mirror images and comprise respectively inner and outer rectangles extending from the frame outer leg and disposed normal to the load beam longitudinal axis, the rectangles being centered on the load beam longitudinal axis and having a length substantially equal to the width of the load beam distal end, each the rectangle being relieved at its locus of attachment to the frame outer leg to free each the rectangle of attachment to the frame outer leg from the outer left and right edges of the rectangle inward to a center locus of each the rectangle having the width of the neck, and, the load beam base section defines a base section mounting hole adapted to register with an actuator arm mounting hole and receive an axially elongated connector having a first terminal at one end and a second terminal at the other end to be formed in situ after assembly of the structure with an actuator arm, the base section mounting hole having circularly distributed fingers extending radially into the base section mounting hole for guiding the connector.